Rosemary Verey's Garden Plans

If you've seen my review for Rosemary Verey's Good Planting Plans you already know this book is a duplicate of that book or vice versa. Anyway, if you have her Good Planting Plans do not purchase this book, it is the same book w/a different title, cover, and ISBN. Great book, but no one needs two copies of the same book!

I like Rosemary Verey's books. The photographs paired with her plan drawings and text make very clear why she made the choices she did. There are a good variety of gardens presented in "Garden Plans" to inspire your own plans. My one negative is that some of the material is rehashed. Notably Elton John's garden, which is well covered in "The Art of Planting". It's to Verey's credit that I noticed that -- I flip through "The Art of Planting" regularly, so I know it well! That being said, if you like ornamental gardens and need a bit of inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong with this paperback.

This is quite a book containing pictures and plans for 'classic' English gardens. Some or none may be suitable and practical for the average gardener. But the author's explanations of colors and groupings, and seasonality should help those who want a garden that leaves the visitor saying WOW!!! Zen of Watering Your Garden Matt Cohen

"Garden Plans" is one of the two most inspiring garden plan books on the market (the other is Barbara Damrosch's "Theme Gardens"). Ms. Verey has an amazing eye for color and design, and takes the readers through a wide variety of her gardens. My very favorite is the ornamental vegetable garden. Ms. Verey discusses 23 of her gardens at various lengths. A few of her plans only hava page or two of discussion, but most include a description of the entire process: the site, the client's needs, and Ms. Verey's steps to creating the perfect garden. Though specific plants are mentioned in the designs, this isn't a how-to-garden book. Instead it is a how-to-plan book, filled with beautiful illustration. The plans themselves are colorfully painted, to scale, and each garden has plenty of pictures of it in full bloom. It's also a fun book because most of her clients are royalty or celebreties, and it's interesting to get a peek at their personal gardens: Elton John's is particularly georgous.